BitFire Provides Tech Infrastructure for Finale of NBC’s American Song Contest

Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson crowned the winner of NBC’s American Song Contest, ending the show’s first season. Arizona-based BitFire Networks and California-based Holley Video Consultation provided several of their key production solutions throughout the series eight-week live run.

Artists from across the United States competed to win the country’s vote for America’s Best Song. The show invites contestants from all 50 states, all five populated U.S. territories including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Washington, D.C. to compete for the title. Acts can consist of solo artists, duos, bands or a DJ with each representative performing an original song.

“Participating in the American Song Contest and other shows like American Idol have really shone a spotlight on the technology we’ve pioneered at BitFire Networks,” says Bob Sullivan, President & CEO. “Millions of viewers from across the country watched a flawless production each week that we were able to support by working together with our partners.”

BitFire partnered with Holley Video Consultation to install a fleet of BitFire servers at the show’s main control room at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Using the connectivity onsite, BitFire was able to send live feeds of the production to their secure web based FireBridge platform. Custom links were created for more than 60 people, allowing them to monitor the show in real-time. Production and music industry executives, members of the show crew and key contributors were all able to use the FireBridge platform from any location worldwide.

The American Song Contest was a great challenge in presenting a brand new, weekly live show with contestants all across America,” says Zak Holley of Holley Video Consultation. “Holley Video and Bitfire Networks were able to provide our client with a remote solution that again has proven to be seamless on the studio and field side of this broadcast.”

For the show’s finale, BitFire and Holley Video deployed kits to multiple locations around the country where the production hosted live watch parties for fans. Live video of each event was transmitted in real time over the BitFire Transport Network back to Los Angeles to air during the show.

With the unique setup and fast pace of the show, BitFire and Holley Video were able to provide several solutions to help solve various needs. BitFire’s remote talent contribution kit was installed at the home of singer Jewel. BitFire’s remote crew solution provided the show director the ability to direct the production remotely from his computer.

The American Song Contest is based on the wildly popular Eurovision Song Contest, an international competition representing primarily European countries which has been on the air since 1956. The event attracts hundreds of millions of viewers globally and ranks among the world’s most watched events each year.

“It’s critical that a show with such rich history has an unblemished performance in the United States,” adds Sullivan. “With the popularity of hosts Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, NBC had to ensure that our state-of-the-art technology was perfect and firing on all cylinders. After our success with American Idol and other top tier sporting events across the globe, BitFire Networks and our partners delivered on that need.”